US-12620664-B2 - Battery terminal force reduction feature for battery operated cordless appliance

US12620664B2US 12620664 B2US12620664 B2US 12620664B2US-12620664-B2

Abstract

An appliance includes a housing that has an operable portion. A power receptacle is in electrical communication with the operable portion and has a high-friction interface. A power source selectively engages with the power receptacle to define an installed position that selectively delivers an electrical current from the power source to a motor of the operable portion. At least one resilient member exerts a biasing force against the power source when the power source is in the installed position. The high-friction interface maintains the power source in the installed position during operation of the motor and resists vibration from the operable portion to maintain the power source in the installed position, and at least one of the power receptacle and the power source include the at least one resilient member.

Inventors

Antonius K. Aditjandra
Richard D. Arnold
Lynsey A. Howse
Rebecca K. Kasner
John J. Myers
Nicholas H. Schutte
Yifan Wang

Assignees

WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20221108

Claims (20)

1 . An appliance comprising: a housing having an operable portion; a power receptacle in electrical communication with the operable portion and having a high-friction interface; a power source that is selectively engaged with the power receptacle to define an installed position that selectively delivers an electrical current from the power source to a motor of the operable portion; and at least one resilient member that exerts a biasing force against the power source when the power source is in the installed position, wherein: the high-friction interface maintains the power source in the installed position during operation of the motor and resists vibrations from the operable portion to maintain the power source in the installed position; at least one of the power receptacle and the power source includes the at least one resilient member the power source includes a lever that selectively engages the housing when the power source is in the installed position, the lever being selectively operable to selectively increase the biasing force to bias the power source away from the installed position; and the lever includes a handle portion that is operable to extract the power source from the power receptacle, and further includes a fulcrum that is rotationally attached to the power source.
2 . The appliance of claim 1 , wherein each of the power source and the power receptacle includes a component of the at least one resilient member.
3 . The appliance of claim 1 , wherein each of the power source and the power receptacle includes a respective resilient member of the at least one resilient member.
4 . The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the lever and the at least one resilient member cooperate to overcome the high-friction interface.
5 . The appliance of claim 4 , wherein the lever is rotationally operable to engage a bearing surface of the housing, wherein engagement of the lever and the bearing surface defines a portion of the biasing force.
6 . The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the high-friction interface is defined by electrical terminals that include a set of pins and an opposing set of electrical contacts that are disposed on the power source and the power receptacle.
7 . The appliance of claim 6 , wherein the set of pins and the opposing set of electrical contacts matingly engage with one another to define an electrical engagement that selectively delivers the electrical current from the power source to the motor.
8 . The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the fulcrum is positioned between the handle portion and a biasing portion that selectively engages the housing.
9 . An appliance comprising: a housing having an operable portion; a power receptacle in electrical communication with the operable portion and having a high-friction interface; a power source that is selectively engaged with the power receptacle and the high-friction interface to define an installed position that selectively delivers an electrical current from the power source to a motor of the operable portion; and a lever that is attached to the power source, wherein the lever selectively engages a bearing surface of the housing in the installed position, wherein: the high-friction interface maintains the power source in the installed position during operation of the motor and resists vibrations from the operable portion to maintain the power source in the installed position; and the lever selectively operates to remove the power source from the installed position, wherein a handle portion rotationally operates to exert a biasing force against the bearing surface that overcomes the high-friction interface and biases the power source away from the installed position.
10 . The appliance of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the power source and the power receptacle include a resilient member that partially absorbs the vibrations from the operable portion.
11 . The appliance of claim 10 , wherein the resilient member exerts the biasing force against the power source when the power source is in the installed position, wherein the resilient member and the lever cooperate to overcome the high-friction interface.
12 . The appliance of claim 9 , wherein the lever is rotationally operable to engage the bearing surface of the housing, wherein engagement of the lever and the bearing surface defines a portion of the biasing force.
13 . The appliance of claim 9 , wherein the high-friction interface is defined by electrical terminals that include a set of pins and an opposing set of electrical contacts that are disposed on the power source and the power receptacle.
14 . The appliance of claim 13 , wherein the set of pins and the opposing set of electrical contacts matingly engage with one another to define an electrical engagement that selectively delivers the electrical current from the power source to the motor.
15 . An appliance comprising: a housing having an operable portion; a power receptacle in electrical communication with the operable portion and having a high-friction interface; a power source that is selectively engaged with the power receptacle to define an installed position that selectively delivers an electrical current from the power source to the operable portion; a resilient member that exerts a biasing force against the power source when the power source is in the installed position; and a lever that is coupled to the power source, the lever being selectively operable to cooperate with the resilient member to increase the biasing force that selectively overcomes the high-friction interface, wherein: the high-friction interface maintains the power source in the installed position during operation of a motor of the operable portion and resists vibrations from the operable portion to maintain the power source in the installed position; at least one of the power receptacle and the power source includes the at least one resilient member; and the lever is rotationally operable to engage a bearing surface of the housing, wherein engagement of the lever and the bearing surface defines a portion of the biasing force.
16 . The appliance of claim 15 , wherein each of the power source and the power receptacle includes a component of the at least one resilient member.
17 . The appliance of claim 16 , wherein each of the power source and the power receptacle includes a respective resilient member of the at least one resilient member.
18 . The appliance of claim 15 , wherein the high-friction interface includes a set of pins and an opposing set of electrical contacts that are disposed on the power source and the power receptacle.
19 . The appliance of claim 18 , wherein the set of pins and the opposing set of electrical contacts matingly engage to define an electrical engagement that selectively delivers the electrical current from the power source to the motor.
20 . The appliance of claim 19 , wherein the lever includes a handle portion that is operable to extract the power source from the power receptacle, wherein the lever includes a fulcrum that is rotationally attached to the power source, and wherein the fulcrum is positioned between the handle portion and a biasing portion that selectively engages the housing.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to and the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/279,401, filed on Nov. 15, 2021, entitled “BATTERY TERMINAL FORCE REDUCTION FEATURE FOR BATTERY OPERATED CORDLESS APPLIANCE,” the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure generally relates to battery-operated appliances, and more specifically, to a battery-operated appliance, typically kitchen appliances, having a force-reduction feature that assists in the removal of the battery from a power receptacle that receives the battery. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an appliance includes a housing that has an operable portion. A power receptacle is in electrical communication with the operable portion and has a high-friction interface. A power source selectively engages with the power receptacle to define an installed position that selectively delivers an electrical current from the power source to a motor of the operable portion. At least one resilient member exerts a biasing force against the power source when the power source is in the installed position. The high-friction interface maintains the power source in the installed position during operation of the motor and resists vibration from the operable portion to maintain the power source in the installed position, and at least one of the power receptacle and the power source include the at least one resilient member. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an appliance includes a housing that has an operable portion. A power receptacle is in electrical communication with the operable portion and has a high-friction interface. A power source selectively engages with the power receptacle and the high-friction interface to define an installed position that selectively delivers an electrical current from the power source to a motor of the operable portion. A lever is attached to the power source, and selectively engages a bearing surface of the housing in the installed position. The high-friction interface maintains the power source in the installed position during operation of the motor and resists vibrations from the operable portion to maintain the power source in the installed position. The lever selectively operates to remove the power source from the installed position. A handle portion rotationally operates to exert a biasing force against the bearing surface that overcomes the high-friction interface and biases the power source away from the installed position. According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, an appliance includes a housing that has an operable portion. A power receptacle is in electrical communication with the operable portion and has a high-friction interface. A power source selectively engages with the power receptacle to define an installed position that selectively delivers an electrical current from the power source to the operable portion. A resilient member exerts a biasing force against the power source when the power source is in the installed position. A lever is coupled to the power source. The lever is selectively operable to cooperate with the resilient member to increase the biasing force that selectively overcomes the high-friction interface. The high-friction interface maintains the power source in the installed position during operation of a motor of the operable portion and resists vibrations from the operable portion to maintain the power source in the installed position, and at least one of the power receptacle and the power source includes the at least one resilient member. These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present disclosure will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims, and appended drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of various battery-operated kitchen appliances that utilize an aspect of the force reduction feature; FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a power source installed within a power receptacle and showing a force reduction feature in the form of at least one interior spring; FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a handle that is incorporated within the power source, where the handle generates a biasing force for extracting the power source from the power receptacle; and FIG. 4 is a schematic elevation view showing rotation of the handle that biases against a bearing surface for at least partially extracting the power source from the power receptacle. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present illustrated embodiments reside primarily in combinations of method steps and apparatus components related